Compulsory Modules

Semester 1

Part One of this module is intended to provide Level One students with a sound understanding of the ways in which in England and Wales, crime comes to the attention of the authorities, how crime is measured and investigated, how accused persons are brought to trial, and those who are convicted are sentenced and punished. This module takes an historical view of criminal law, the police, the criminal courts and the prision system, examining the significant social, economic, and philosophical changes that have helped to shape the modern criminal justice and penal systems. It examines the functions of the criminal justice agencies, explores some of the predominant ideas and theories about how the system operates and raises critical questions about the ways in which criminal justice is done and punishment is delivered.
In Part Two the aim is to provide students with a thorough familiarity of major ways of thinking about crime, with reference to some of the main theoretical perspectives within criminology. This module provides an introduction to a range of criminological thought. Theoretical perspectives have been developed in an attempt to explain why people commit crime, and the history of thought on this question will be examined. The module considers the shifting definitions of crime and to offenders. Empirical concerns are likely to include to role of the media in crime construction, the use and abuse of drugs, the experiences of victims of crime and attitudes towards white-collar and organised crime.

Semester 2

This module is intended to provide Level One students with a thorough familiarity with the major ways of thinking about crime, with reference to some of the main theoretical perspectives within criminology. This module provides an introduction to criminological thought, ranging from classical to strain theories of crime. Theoretical perspectives have been developed in an attempt to explain why people commit crime, and the history of thought on this question will be examined. The module considers the shifting definitions of crime over time and space, and explores the ways in which society responds to crime and criminals. Empirical concerns are likely to include the role of the media in crime construction, the use and abuse of drugs, the experiences of victims of crime and attitudes towards white-collar and organised crime.

40 credits from:

This first semester course, aimed at post-GCSE or post-A Level candidates, intends to consolidate and expand the students' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through exposure to a variety of texts, ranging from newspaper articles to literary extracts, differing in register and style (to include very colloquial and very formal examples). Written (including translation) skills will be consolidated; oral and aural skills will also be emphasised through classes in which students watch/listen to extracts from films/TV or radio programmes and are encouraged to discuss and analyse their contents.
Core Texts
Morena, Antonio, Donatella Melucci, Annamaria Moneti & Graziana Lazzarino, Da Capo, 7th edition (international edition), (Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning: 2011).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Self-study portfolio;
Lingu exercises.

This second semester course intends to keep consolidating and expanding the students' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through exposure to a variety of texts, ranging from newspaper articles to literary extracts, differing in register and style (to include very colloquial and very formal examples). Oral and Aural skills will also be emphasised through special classes in which students watch/listen to extracts from films/TV or radio programmes and are encouraged to discuss and analyse their contents.
Core Text:
Morena, Antonio, Donatella Melucci, Annamaria Moneti & Graziana Lazzarino, Da Capo, 7th edition (international edition), (Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning: 2011).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Self-study portfolio;
Lingu exercises.

This is a module running in semester 1 aimed at absolute beginners. This module intends to make students become familiar with the basic structures of the language in order to enable them to express themselves, both orally and in writing, on very simple topics related to everyday life situations. The textbook adopted for this course is 'Spazio Italia 1' (Loescher Editore). This particular text has been selected for its communicative approach to language teaching which, in conjunction with a more traditional approach to grammar, allows students to speed up their progress in all the four essential language learning skills of speaking, reading, listening and writing.
Key Texts:
Diaco, Mimma Flavia & Maria Gloria Tommasini, Spazio Italia 1, (Torino: Loescher Editore, 2011).
Diaco, Mimma Flavia & Maria Gloria Tommasini, Spazio Italia 3, (Torino: Loescher Editore, 2011).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources: Lingu exercises

This module is aimed at all first year students who have completed Italian for Beginners 1. The module aims to develop the basic oral, aural and written communicative skills acquired in semester 1 in order to bring students up to and beyond a level of proficiency equivalent to 'A' level. Students apply the grammatical principles learned in semester 1 to extended pieces of writing and also focus on more complex grammatical structures. Aural communicative skills are developed through audio and video tape comprehension exercises and students are required to make individual presentations on more sophisticated topics.
Key Texts:
Diaco, Mimma Flavia & Maria Gloria Tommasini, Spazio Italia 1, (Torino: Loescher Editore, 2011).
Diaco, Mimma Flavia & Maria Gloria Tommasini, Spazio Italia 3, (Torino: Loescher Editore, 2011).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources: Lingu exercises

Optional Modules

40 credits from:

The module is devised to suit 'ab initio' and post-GCSE students of French and focuses on the development of basic oral, aural and written communicative skills. The module involves an introduction to and [in the case of those with GCSE knowledge of the language] a revision of key areas of grammar (present and past tenses, the future and conditional tenses, nouns, adjectives, prepositions). Students will acquire general vocabulary and key expressions relating to self, family, daily routine, hobbies, likes and dislikes, in part through role-play situations. Using appropriate audio/visual aids, students will also be introduced to modern and contemporary French culture and society.
Key texts:
Action Grammaire! 3rd edition by Phil Turk & Geneviève García Vandaele (Hodder Education, 2006).
The French Experience 1 Marie Therese Bougard, Daniele Bourdais (BBC Publications, 2003)
Students are given the following advice about purchasing a dictionary:
“You may be able to manage with a concise one (not a pocket dictionary), but you should consider a ‘proper’ translating dictionary such as the Collins-Robert or Oxford-Hachette, and learn to use it effectively and regularly.”

The module is devised to suit 'ab initio' and post-GCSE students of German and focuses on the development of basic oral, aural and written communicative skills. The module involves an introduction to and [in the case of those with GCSE knowledge of the language] a revision of key areas of grammar (present and past tenses, the future and conditional tenses, nouns, adjectives, prepositions). Students will acquire general vocabulary and key expressions relating to self, family, daily routine, hobbies, likes and dislikes, in part through role-play situations. Using appropriate audio/visual aids, students will also be introduced to modern and contemporary German culture and society
Key Text
Storz, Thomas, Jutta Müller and Hartmut Aufderstraße, Delfin (Munich: Hueber Verlag, 2014).
Websites
SMLC offers a link list for all language students that covers the most important resources (newspapers, TV channels, online grammar and dictionaries, etc.) in the language(s) that they study:
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ml/links-german.php.en (German online resources)
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ml/links-welsh.php.en (Welsh medium resources)
Additionally, students are encouraged to consult: English-German Context Dictionary: http://www.linguee.com/

This module is aimed at ab initio and post GCSE students of Spanish and focuses on the development of basic oral, aural and written communicative skills. The module involves an introduction to (and in the case of those with GCSE knowledge of the language), a revision of key areas of grammar (present and past tenses, the future and conditional tenses, nouns, adjectives, prepositions) and general vocabulary and key expressions relating to self, family, daily routine, hobbies, likes and dislikes and role-play situations. Through selected audio/visual aids, students will also be introduced to Spanish culture and society.
Textbook:
Kattán, Juan, and Angela Howkins, Spanish Grammar in Context, 3rd edn (New York: Routledge, 2014)

The course provides an overview of a wide range of topics in the study of natural language, including:
1. What is language?
2. Morphology: words and their structure.
3. Phonetics and Phonology: language sounds and sound systems.
4. Syntax: sentence structure
5. Semantics and Pragmatics: meaning and context
6. Language variation.
7. Language change.
8. Language acquisition
9. Language pathologies
10. Language and the brain
Furthermore, the course provides guidance on how to plan & write an essay as well as other assessment methods, and on how to prepare effectively for examinations.

1. the relationship between language, culture and thought processes,
2. the relationship between language and identity,
3. the structures of bilingual societies,
4. the different manifestations of multilingualism, particularly in relation to the concepts of bilingualism and diglossia,
5. the cultural, political, and anthropological issues surrounding minority languages & language policy.

20 credits from:

This module introduces students to Sociology. The module runs over two semesters giving students a comprehensive sociological foundation to some of the key sociological issues and debates.
The module introduces following aspects of social sciences:
Semester 1
The nature of social sciences and relations between key disciplines and methods (2 weeks).
Interaction and communication (2 weeks)
Life course and the family (2 weeks)
Gender and socialisation (2 weeks)
Culture and media (2 weeks)
Semester 2
Social stratification, Education and work (2 weeks)
Organisations and institutions (2 weeks)
The environment, urbanisation (2 weeks)
Political Sociology and social movements (2 weeks)
Globalisation (2 weeks)

Compulsory Modules

Semester 1

SXY2001 is a 20-credit module, taught over the course of a single semester.
It focuses on the main theoretical approaches and ideas in the contemporary study of crime, deviance and social control. The time period runs from the late 18 hundreds to the present day. The approaches and ideas are situated in their intellectual and historical contexts, and the writings of key thinkers will be critically examined.
The chief purpose of the module is to show the relevance of criminological ideas to a range of current crime/criminal justice issues. Among the perspectives and topics covered are the following: Merton’s theory of anomie; subcultural theory; neutralization and disengagement techniques; symbolic interactionism; labelling and stigma; moral crusade; critical criminology; shaming; rational choice theory; and crime and the emotions.

This course intends to consolidate and expand the students' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through exposure to a variety of texts ranging from newspaper articles to literary extracts, differing in register and style (to include very colloquial and very formal examples). Oral and aural skills will also be emphasised through special classes in which students watch/listen to extracts from films/TV or radio programmes and are encouraged to discuss and analyse their content. Students will also study materials that provide insight into Italian civilisation in the target language.
Key Text:
De Rome, Denise, Soluzioni: A Practical Grammar of Contemporary Italian, (London&New York: Routledge, 2010).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Self-study portfolio.

Semester 2

This module aims to build on the introduction to the criminal justice system in England and Wales provided in Year 1 through SXY1007. It will reinforce and advance students' understanding of various measures of crime, and how the main criminal justice agencies operate in particular circumstances and under the demands of increasing international concerns about certain types of crime. Thus, the role, responsibilities and levels of accountability of the main criminal justice agencies will be reviewed in the context of contemporary concerns about specific types of crimes and criminals, such as youth crime, terrorism and state crime, white collar, cyber and organised crime. The module will focus on advancing the discussion of the most dominant debates in criminal justice and penology. In doing so the module aims to advance students’ understanding of criminal justice statistics as well as the value of comparative analysis of criminal justice practices and procedures.
Indicative Course content:
- Understanding crime and criminal justice by numbers – breaking the back of crime statistics
- Controlling youth crime
- Controlling ‘clean’ crime – cyber-crime, business crime and white collar crime
- Controlling ‘terror’ – state crime, organised crime and terrorism
Underpinning these different topics will be an engagement with concepts of social harm and how criminal justice agencies are adapting to control the different types of crimes and criminals, nationally as well as internationally.

This course intends to consolidate and expand the students' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through exposure to a variety of texts ranging from newspaper articles to literary extracts, differing in register and style (to include very colloquial and very formal examples). Oral and aural skills will also be emphasised through special classes in which students watch/listen to extracts from films/TV or radio programmes and are encouraged to discuss and analyse their content. Students will also study materials that provide insight into Italian civilisation in the target language.
Key Text:
De Rome, Denise, Soluzioni: A Practical Grammar of Contemporary Italian, (London&New York: Routledge, 2010).
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Self-study portfolio.

There will be no set curriculum - rather this will emerge each time the module is taught depending on staff and student interests. The approach adopted will be to devote the first workshop to identifying themes and issues to be addressed, and to draw up the curriculum for that academic session in collaboration between staff and students.
The workshop style of teaching and learning will allow emerging issues and contemporary debates to be addressed.
Possible topics to be covered:
Should drugs be legalised?
Social control and the media
Thinking critically about criminology
Should there be a sociology of the environment?
Exploring disaster capitalism
Girls will be girls and boys will be boys – debunking the myth of gender.
Exploring the relationship between inequality and capitalism
Radicalisation, immigration, identity and racism.
The Arab Spring
Riots and civil liberties
Thinking beyond the norm – the rationalization of ‘them’ and ‘us’

Media stories on crime and law are numerous. They form an object of inexhaustible interest to audiences. Many people learn about crime and law from the media, especially from newspapers, books and films. Media portrayals often contributed decisively to changes in public opinion and politics. Also, deviant behaviour can be influenced by media. Media construct deviance (e.g. by identifying `folk devils`), but media also offer cultural templates for people involved in deviant activities.
The class deals with the cultural and political significance of media portrayals of crime and law. Students learn about economic, political, legal and other backgrounds. Major narratives employed by the media will be identified. The standard patterns of telling and other technical means of the media are analysed. The audience's reaction to media portrayals and its use of media also form a topic for the class.

This module will examine the explanations for, and the experience of, poverty in the UK and in comparative perspective. It will aim to address the following aspects:
1. Defining poverty – how is poverty defined? What is social exclusion? How important is inequality?
2. Explaining poverty - how has the persistence of poverty been explained? This will look particularly at ‘pathological’ explanations involving a ‘culture of poverty’ or the
existence of an ‘underclass’
3. The risk of poverty – who is most at risk of being poor, and what are the possible consequences?
4. Experiencing poverty - what does it mean to be poor in the UK today?
5. Dimensions of poverty - what are the various dimensions of poverty, including income, wealth, health, education and housing.
6. International issues – can we ‘make poverty history’?
7. Confronting poverty – what policies are most effective against poverty? Is poverty or inequality the real problem?

The structure of the module covers following topics:
1. The nature of social diversity and identies.
2. The scope of social inequalities in the global, national and local contexts;
3. the class and economic inequalities;
4. Gender inequalities and sexualities;
5. Race and ethnicities;
6. Nationality;
7. Consumer culture and subcultures
8. New types of inequalities in global age.

The module introduces the classic contributions of Marx, Tocqueville, Tonnies, Weber, Durkheim and Simmel and the development of their thinking concerning modernity, capitalism, rationalisation and bureaucracy, and the question of moral and social order. The module then considers how the classic tradition has been transformed and new paths have been pursued in the contexts of Parsons' 'system theory', symbolic interactionism, critical theory and feminist social theory.

Workshop topics include:
How to help young people who are not in education, employment or training needs (NEETS);
Encouraging more men into in care related professions;
How to create inclusive work places for transgender employees and understanding/tackling hate crime.

The module will allow the student to study the modern English criminal law, in particular the law relating to:
Introduction;
Actus Reus;
Mens Rea;
Negligence and Strict Liability;
General Defences;
Parties to Crime;
Inchoate Offences;
Homicide;
Non-fatal Offences against the Person;
Offences under the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978: Theft and Related Offences;
Offences involving Deception;
Further Offences under the Theft Act;
Criminal Damage;
Sexual Offences.

The module begins by clarifying the state of the analytic philosophy of religion at the turn of the 20th century, reflecting upon its inheritance of 19th century ‘modernity’. This is contrasted with some concurrent developments in the continental tradition (German Romanticism, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche). This is the context from which, and into which, Wittgenstein speaks. We will cover the early, middle, and late eras of Wittgenstein’s thought, and show the revolutionary impact that his thought had for the philosophy of religion. We track the various directions in which Wittgenstein’s influence was felt; for example, in A. J. Ayer’s verificationism, or those overtly ‘Wittgensteinian’ philosophers of religion such as D. Z. Phillips. The ‘meta-philosophy of religion’ is introduced throughout, as we tackle the question of how best to philosophise about religion.

State crimes: from ghettos to genocide. How does criminology and criminal justice respond when it is the formal State who offends? How do we define crime, justice and victimisation in this context?
Transnational and organised crimes: human trafficking and the international trade in sexual services and illegal substances are examples of crimes which transcend national boundaries.
Interpersonal levels of crime and power: examples may include ‘honour’-based violence and coercion; homophobic hate crimes; gender violence in intimate relationships; what happens when the victim becomes the offender as in the case of battered women who kill? How do the law, society and criminal justice system respond to these forms of crime?

Compulsory Modules

Semester 1

This 30 credit module running throughout the year promotes appropriate use of style and register in all written and oral work and ensures that students can deal with variations in register and idiomatic expression in a confident and accurate manner. Through exposure to selected texts, complex grammatical structures and audiovisual materials, students acquire reading, writing, aural and oral skills which match the required standard of final year linguists.
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Translation classes dossier.

Semester 2

This 30 credit module running throughout the year promotes appropriate use of style and register in all written and oral work and ensures that students can deal with variations in register and idiomatic expression in a confident and accurate manner. Through exposure to selected texts, complex grammatical structures and audiovisual materials, students acquire reading, writing, aural and oral skills which match the required standard of final year linguists.
Webpages:
www.rainews.it
www.repubblica.it
Any other learning resources:
Writing classes dossier;
Translation classes dossier.

This module aims to further develop and consolidate translation skills students have acquired in their language courses. By approaching translation as a process, it examines translation at different textual levels, from the lexico-grammatical level such as words and grammar, to the textual-pragmatic level such as cohesion, register and text types. It provides students with a framework to reflect on the translational difficulties in their chosen language pairs and explore strategies and their implications.
Key texts
Baker, Mona. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation, 2nd edition (London: Routledge, 2011).
Hatim, Basil and Munday, Jeremy. Translation: an Advanced Resource Book (London: Routledge, 2004).
Students will also require language specific resources such as a bilingual and monolingual dictionaries.

This module provides students with the opportunity to examine a topical issue relevant to one or more countries/regions in which the target language is spoken. The chosen issue will be examined through the prism of the press and media, in order to develop an understanding not only of the specific issue in question, but also of the media landscape of the relevant society. The resulting dossier will comprise the analysis of contrasting media and press types in their coverage of the chosen topic, as well as an assessment of their importance in influencing public opinion. The dossier will be written in the target language, and should contain an appendix of materials which have been examined.
Busà, M. Grazia, Introducing the Language of the News: a Student's Guide (London: Routledge, 2014)
Stevenson, Nick, Understanding Media Cultures: Social Theory and Mass Communication (London; Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1995)
Harrison, Martin, TV news, Whose Bias? : a Casebook Analysis of Strikes, Television and Media Studies (Hermitage, Berks.: Policy Journals, 1985)
Stocchetti Matteo and Karin Kukkonen, Critical Media Analysis: an Introduction for Media Professionals (Frankfurt am Main ; New York: Peter Lang, 2011)
Van Dijk, Teun A., Discourse and Communication: New Approaches to the Analysis of Mass Media Discourse and Communication (Berlin; New York: W. de Gruyter, 1985)
Websites:
This section of SMLC website lists some of the major newspaper, TV and radio sites in German, French, Spanish and Italian media: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ml/uglinks.php

SXY3014 is a 20-credit module, taught over the course of a single semester.
It focuses on the use or threat of punitive control and violence as a response to serious criminal wrongdoing and perceived security threats. Punitive control refers to the different ways in state or non-state political agents respond coercively to behaviour and people they regard as criminal, deviant, problematic, worrying, threatening, troublesome or undesirable in some way or another. The main emphasis of the course will be on violent punitive control: control that works through inflicting physical harm and destruction on human bodies.
Focusing on a number of topical case-studies, the course deals centrally with the moral question of how (if at all) punitive control can be morally justified.
What is punitive control and how can it be justified?
What is punishment and is it necessarily a good thing?
What should be done about - or to - people who commit terrible crimes? Should murderers be maimed or killed?
What would be a just punishment for rape? Can torture ever be justified? Is terrorism ever right or morally understandable?
When is it right to fight?
What is pre-emptive war, and when (if ever) is it necessary?
One of the key objectives of the course will be to provide a framework for thinking clearly about these kinds of questions.

State crimes: from ghettos to genocide. How does criminology and criminal justice respond when it is the formal State who offends? How do we define crime, justice and victimisation in this context?
Transnational and organised crimes: human trafficking and the international trade in sexual services and illegal substances are examples of crimes which transcend national boundaries.
Interpersonal levels of crime and power: examples may include ‘honour’-based violence and coercion; homophobic hate crimes; gender violence in intimate relationships; what happens when the victim becomes the offender as in the case of battered women who kill? How do the law, society and criminal justice system respond to these forms of crime?